cultivating (preparing the ground for planting crops), drilling (planting crops), fertilizing (feeding crops) and spraying (protecting from pests). The glorious weather has put everyone in a good mood and work is happening a pace. The ground has dried out quickly and Tom has drilled spring barley where the sugarbeet was lifted last month so all looking good. The next [...]
Tom has been out busy fertilizing the crops to kick start them into action and get growing! As well as water and sunshine, crops need nitrogen, phosphorous and potash to grow as well as a number of micronutrients. We therefore use different types and amounts of fertilizer depending on crop requirement, availability and time of year. Requirement depends on [...]
The farm is still in hibernation mode with stuff sitting quite still over the winter months but generally everything is looking okay. The Jack First we have had over the past week can be quite helpful for cropping because it kills and “breaks the cycle” of some pests and diseases. “In the olden days” when regular and longer frosts [...]
“frustration” (that’s a polite term for f…… absolutely furious) about the changes brought about in the budget. The frustration has been channeled into marches – the one on the 19th November seemed to go well and get a lot of coverage and a tractor ralley through London yesterday also went ahead (I got videos from a friend who worked [...]
Crops are largely in, weather has been largely kind and stuff is mostly just getting on with growing. Which has given us and all farmers a lot of headspace to think and be shocked by the budget announcements and the impact on farming. These are significant, whichever way you look at them. Firstly and somewhat under the radar, the [...]
And all the excitement that goes with it. This year, it was exciting. And wet. “Biblical” amounts of September rain got everyone a bit tense. The village where I work was flooded, not ideal planting conditions. But it didn’t last too long and gradually some windows emerged for drilling (planting seeds) and spraying and here at Meads Farm we [...]
Harvest is done and dusted and the Harvest Twitch a distant memory (having been replaced by the “Field Prep Panic”) but I know you’re all here for the stats, so…. Dates: 18th July – 12th August Average wheat yield: 9.4 tonne per hectare BEST wheat yield: 10.9 tonne per hectare Oats: 8.5 tonne per hectare Best crops: All of [...]
The “Harvest Twitch” has well and truly set in. Symptoms include: excessive washing of the combine harvester, constant grain testing with the moisture meter, phoning other farmers to compare grain moisture percentages and inability to commit to doing anything in case of combining or “cutting” (tech term). It’s a thrill. Harvest starts when the crop is “ripe” which means [...]